The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox

The award-winning president of the National Book Critics Circle examines the astonishing growth of email—and how it is changing our lives, not always for the better. John  Freeman  is  one  of  Americas  pre-eminent  literary critics now in this, his first book, he presents an elegant and erudite investigation into a technology that has revolutionized the way we work, communicate, and even think. Theres no question that email is an explosive phenomenon. The first email, developed for military use, was sent less than forty years ago by 2011, there will be 3.2 billion users. The average corporate employee now receives upwards of 130 emails per day by 2009 that number is expected to reach nearly 200. And the flood of messages is ceaseless for increasing numbers of people, email means work now occupies home time as well as office hours.